Silicon carbide (SiC) based ceramics have received significant study for optical applications due to high specific stiffness, high thermal conductivity, and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). Reaction bonded SiC ceramics, which are composites of SiC and Si, are of particular interest due to large size and complex shape capability. The behavior of these ceramics is very much affected by the grain size of the SiC phase. The present work examines SiC grain sizes ranging from 6 to 50 μm, with the goal of optimizing properties and finishing capability for optical uses. Microstructures are reviewed; physical, mechanical and thermal properties are presented; and post-polishing surface roughness data are provided. In particular, results demonstrate that properties can be tailored by SiC particle size selection, and that measureable enhancement in surface roughness can be achieved by moving to smaller SiC grain size.
Diamond reinforced reaction bonded silicon carbide composites have unique properties such as very high stiffness, low density, low thermal expansion coefficient and high thermal conductivity making them attractive materials for high precision optical and structural components. However, their use in high precision equipments was limited due to significant difficulties in high tolerance machining of these super hard composites. In this present work, machineable diamond reinforced SiC composites were fabricated through forming hybrid monolithic microstructures with diamond free machineable surfaces. The resulting machineable composites were used to produce ultra-stable mirror substrates with optional internal cooling channels for high power laser optic applications.
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